Starting Photography

macrumors regular

Well, ive got the magazine Mac Create from when it started (3 months ago) and it has alot of work that can be done to enhance photo's, ive always liked snapping with a crapy digital camera, but when i try to get serious and take some good shots it just doesn't work for me, im hoping to start up properly, its my brothers wedding in a year aswell, eh said if my work gets good he will pay me as much as he would a normal proffesionla photographer, and his best man said the same lol, im new to it really so don't want to go blow loads of money on a camera and then be light 'wtf?!?!?!'i will be buying of e-bay as its the cheapest place lol, so please can someone help me.

Theres a few questions

1. What camera should i get thats good but cheap?2. What is the best version on photoshop to have? (CS,Elements,7.0)3. Is Aperpeture worth buying if im thinking about being serious?4. Will having swapable lenses be hard to get used to?

macrumors member

Well, it just depends on how serious you want to get, the canon 300D is a really good camera still with a really good price second hand. If you want to go slightly better then the new Canon rebel XT and Nikon D50 are fairly cheap from new.

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2. What is the best version on photoshop to have? (CS,Elements,7.0)

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I use CS2, only becuase i have to, i run a business using it but elements is advanced enough for most people, even free G.I.M.P would be adequate. (not sure if they handle RAW files though)

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3. Is Aperpeture worth buying if im thinking about being serious?

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Again, depends on how serious you get, it look fantastic but seeing how it isn't in lots of peoples hand yet its hard to say. You will be able to get by with photoshop for your RAW

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4. Will having swapable lenses be hard to get used to?

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Its not really a pain, although we all wish we had an 8-1200 with the same quality as a 300L, but as that wont happen you have a choice to make, (1) substitute quality for effectiveness and by an all round lens like an 18-200 or (2) substitute efficiency and get quality lenses.

thread startermacrumors regular

Well, it just depends on how serious you want to get, the canon 300D is a really good camera still with a really good price second hand. If you want to go slightly better then the new Canon rebel XT and Nikon D50 are fairly cheap from new.

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See thats quite hard, because if i like it then ive just wasted money on a camera when i could of spent a little more on a better one, but if i don't like it then ive not losted as much money, so its kinda hard, but i will have a look at them boht on e-bay thanks

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I use CS2, only becuase i have to, i run a business using it but elements is advanced enough for most people, even free G.I.M.P would be adequate. (not sure if they handle RAW files though)

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I use CS at work along with elements, im not so keen on elements , i use 7.0 at home and im used to that, but like you say will they be ok handling RAW images??

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Again, depends on how serious you get, it look fantastic but seeing how it isn't in lots of peoples hand yet its hard to say. You will be able to get by with photoshop for your RAW

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Sounds good to me, i will have to read a few reviews i guess, but if photoshop will do then theres no point in me spending money on this.

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Its not really a pain, although we all wish we had an 8-1200 with the same quality as a 300L, but as that wont happen you have a choice to make, (1) substitute quality for effectiveness and by an all round lens like an 18-200 or (2) substitute efficiency and get quality lenses.

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Yeah i see were your coming from, its all part of 'being a photographery' so i will have t get used to what they all mena lol

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No Problem!

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WOW! the support i have from people at these forums is AMAZING, im so glad i joined, I must thank you all of you

macrumors 68040

Also have a look at DPreview.com. They have great information on a wide range of digital cameras with good reviews as well. Some good camera brands are: Canon, Nikon and Olympus. Although I also have a Sony dSLR-like digi cam that takes great photos, IMO. But having interchangeable lenses sure is nice

Good luck with your search! And definitely go to a local camera shop and see what they have to say and recommend to you. That's what I did.

Oh yeah, you might also want to check out some books that a camera shop might have to learn more about photography and learn some tips and tricks. It can be really interesting.

thread startermacrumors regular

Also have a look at DPreview.com. They have great information on a wide range of digital cameras with good reviews as well. Some good camera brands are: Canon, Nikon and Olympus. Although I also have a Sony dSLR-like digi cam that takes great photos, IMO. But having interchangeable lenses sure is nice

Good luck with your search! And definitely go to a local camera shop and see what they have to say and recommend to you. That's what I did.

Oh yeah, you might also want to check out some books that a camera shop might have to learn more about photography and learn some tips and tricks. It can be really interesting.

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thanks for the advice, yeah there will be a few books being brought, and ive been looking at a few guides to get good pictures etc.

Its seems cool, will have to wait to see what father christmas brings lmao!

macrumors member

macrumors 6502a

One idea is to start with a second hand film SLR and look for a shop that will batch scan your film when you have it developed. Prices vary but you can get very good results.

As you will soon find out, lenses is were you will spend most of your money. Canon and Nikon auto-focus lenses work on both SLR and DSLR bodies, so when you want to upgrade to a digital body you can keep the lenses.

Nikon manual focus lenses can be used with new DSLR bodies (without autofocus), but Canon manual focus lenses can not be used with any auto-focus body (DSLR or SLR).

I'd also ask around (parents/grandparents) to see if they have any equipment you can start with. Shoot slide film, have it batched scanned and look for a good book to help you out with the basics.

thread startermacrumors regular

One idea is to start with a second hand film SLR and look for a shop that will batch scan your film when you have it developed. Prices vary but you can get very good results.

As you will soon find out, lenses is were you will spend most of your money. Canon and Nikon auto-focus lenses work on both SLR and DSLR bodies, so when you want to upgrade to a digital body you can keep the lenses.

Nikon manual focus lenses can be used with new DSLR bodies (without autofocus), but Canon manual focus lenses can not be used with any auto-focus body (DSLR or SLR).

I'd also ask around (parents/grandparents) to see if they have any equipment you can start with. Shoot slide film, have it batched scanned and look for a good book to help you out with the basics.

or just buy a Rebel and be done with it.

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Hey thanks for the comments, my granddad used to be a photographer but he dies along time ago, i saw his camera, but for obvious reasons i wasn't aloud to use it lol, so non of my family have a camera (all i have is my mum + dad, and 1 auntie and uncle)

macrumors 65816

I see (from your sig ) that you went with a D50. A very good choice IMHO. It seems to be a great "starter's" DLSR and will still suit your needs as you get into more advanced photography.
I shoot a D70s. The D50 is basically the same, minus a few things (that I find handy) and minus a few $$$. Enjoy it

thread startermacrumors regular

Just bear in mind (if you are thinking about buying Aperture), that it won't run on any current iBook as its minimum memory requirements are 2Gb RAM.

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:O:O REALLY! man that means i will have to also get an iMac or something (must ell mum to buy me one )

whocares said:

I see (from your sig ) that you went with a D50. A very good choice IMHO. It seems to be a great "starter's" DLSR and will still suit your needs as you get into more advanced photography.
I shoot a D70s. The D50 is basically the same, minus a few things (that I find handy) and minus a few $$$. Enjoy it

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Yup i did, im going to my locol camera shop this weekend and renting it out for a few days. see how it feels etc

Thanks all for your help, much appreciated, and thnaks for letting me spend mroe money

macrumors regular

This is just my opinion, but it seems like money is a deciding factor for you. So you may want to try out elements first. Less than $100 and see if you are serious about advanced photo editing. It would be a real wasted to spend $500 + on Photoshop CS just to find out you are lost or not that interested in all the features. You could also use the left over money to put towards additional lenses.....

macrumors Penryn

1) Get the Nikon D50, Canon 300D (older model, but still decent), or an Olympus or Konica-Minolta model because they're a bit cheaper than the equivalent Nikon and Canon models (ie: for less money, you get the same features and similar quality).

macrumors 68030

1) Get the Nikon D50, Canon 300D (older model, but still decent), or an Olympus or Konica-Minolta model because they're a bit cheaper than the equivalent Nikon and Canon models (ie: for less money, you get the same features and similar quality).

2) Get Elements, not Photoshop.

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I started on a Nikon D70 because I preferred the build quality of that over the Canon 300D, although recently I just switched and purchased a Canon 20D with some nice glass I prefer Nikon's consumer lineup over Canon's, the build just feels better to me (D50/D70(s)).

Both systems are excellent, anyone you tells you otherwise just has their life invested in one so it's foolish for them to switch because of cost. I chose one to start, and decided to switch early on before I acquired so much glass I would be unable to.
If you don't currently find yourself having brand loyalty, I would suggest going by feel and what you think you like better. Nikon and Canon offer similar but different lens offerings, so if you know what you like you can choose the system that is more tailored to that style of shooting. I would suggest staying with one of those two however, because if you do like it they have the most options for the future, and if you don't they have a higher re-sale value (in case you want to liquidate your stuff).

macrumors 68000

Well now you need to get out there and take some shots and post it here , also dont be in a rush into getting lenses and accessories, as your skills improve you will eventually learn your gear limitations and what do you need to further your photography needs. Example, if you always end up zooming to the max of your lens, then possibly your next purchase should be a longer lens, and etc etc.

There are a few good points in this post such as the most important thing is the lens and not the body and such so I wont repeat it again.

macrumors G4

Well, ive got the magazine Mac Create from when it started (3 months ago) and it has alot of work that can be done to enhance photo's, ive always liked snapping with a crapy digital camera, but when i try to get serious and take some good shots it just doesn't work for me, im hoping to start up properly, its my brothers wedding in a year aswell, eh said if my work gets good he will pay me as much as he would a normal proffesionla photographer, and his best man said the same lol, im new to it really so don't want to go blow loads of money on a camera and then be light 'wtf?!?!?!'i will be buying of e-bay as its the cheapest place lol, so please can someone help me.

Theres a few questions

1. What camera should i get thats good but cheap?2. What is the best version on photoshop to have? (CS,Elements,7.0)3. Is Aperpeture worth buying if im thinking about being serious?4. Will having swapable lenses be hard to get used to?

Thanks all

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Sorry to say it but ALL beginners ask questions like these. They think photography is all about equipment. It's not. Think of it more like oil painting. Yes painter need equipment but they have more important things to learn. I would say otherwise if you were only doing vacation pictures and snapshots of kids but you will be trying to take photos that other people might like. That is a lot harder. In fact is is literally an art.

Now to get back to equipment. If your goal is to shoot a wedding at the "profesional level" then you should expect to budget about $5,000 for equipment. Also one year is pushing it education normally takes longer but you can work hard, study and read and more then anything SHOOT lots of images and also make sure his wedding is not the first one you shoot. There are plenty of poor people with no mony for photos, work for then for free but ONLY after you have a good portfolio worked up of other "people shots" to show.

What to study? THose big over sized coffee table books filled with photos. Find the ones you like and the photographers you like. Then go out and get your self an assignment to emulate that style. Shoot 50 shots evaluate them then pick another assignment or redo the first. Also seeing as you specifically want to do wedding look at those "bride" magazines and try to emulate those photos. Hint: look at the lighting and backgrounds. Also, none of those shots just happened. Each were carfully set up the model and camera were placed in exact spots the lights were set up, make up applied and so on. Then after 99.999% of the work is done the photographer tripped the shuttter. Point is the it's not about camera equipment it is about organization and setup.

macrumors regular

Giving advice to someone who started this thread 4 months ago and has already bought is funny. Whatever floats your boat I guess. I should drag out an old thread that is meaningless to the OP for fun and see who is dumb enough to respond.

macrumors 6502

Giving advice to someone who started this thread 4 months ago and has already bought is funny. Whatever floats your boat I guess. I should drag out an old thread that is meaningless to the OP for fun and see who is dumb enough to respond.

macrumors 68000

Giving advice to someone who started this thread 4 months ago and has already bought is funny. Whatever floats your boat I guess. I should drag out an old thread that is meaningless to the OP for fun and see who is dumb enough to respond.

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Old post or not, I enjoyed reading the new responses. The thread is old, but the advice is relevant, and it could help someone else.

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